Copa holders Barcelona, Real and Atletico through to last 16
MADRID: Atletico Madrid were so poor in the first half against fourth-division visitor Sant Andreu that a shock Copa del Rey elimination wasn’t a far-fetched possibility. But three goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second period guided Atletico’s secondstring team to a 4-0 victory at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday.
Barcelona and Sevilla also beat lower division clubs, while Villarreal recorded an 8-0 rout of second tier Almeria with four goals by Cameroon striker Karl Toko-ekambi.
Thomas Lemar scored for Atletico in the 48th minute, Nikola Kalinic in the 53rd, Angel Correa in the 55th and Victor “Vitolo” Machin in the 81st to secure Diego Simeone’s team a place in the last 16 following a 5-0 aggregate victory.
“We struggled in the first half. We weren’t able to play with quick transitions,” said Simeone after his 400th Atletico match. “Everything changed in the second half. After the first goal the team played more freely.”
BARCELONA BOOST
Barcelona advanced 5-1 on aggregate after its reserves cruised past third division Cultural Leonesa 4-1 at Camp Nou Stadium.
Denis Suarez scored a goal in each half while Munir El Haddadi and Malcom were on target before halftime. Josep Sene netted in the second period for Cultural, the club owned by the Qatari state. Barcelona midfielder Ricard “Riqui” Puig, 19, set up one of Suarez’s goals on his debut.
REAL WIN 10-1
Meanwhile, a dominant Real Madrid trounced third division side Melilla 6-1 in the second leg on Thursday, completing a 10-1 aggregate scoreline to ease into the last 16 of the competition.
Madrid went into half-time with a three-goal lead after Marco Asensio scored twice in three minutes and debutant Javi Sanchez also got on the scoresheet late in the half.
Spain midfielder Isco extended the advantage three minutes into the second half, while Brazilian Vinicus Jr. hit goal number five. Isco then netted his second goal to seal the game.